Christian cafe owner threatened with arrest for playing DVD of Bible verses

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Jamie Murray runs Salt & Light Cafe, Blackpool, Lancashire, UK  (courtesy The Christian Institute)

By Spencer D Gear

Do we understand the seriousness of the times in which we live? This story that I read from the UK caused me to reflect on how much longer it will be before Christians in our countries could face similar threats when we evangelise in public.

You might like to take a read of several takes on this story:

Police tell cafe owner: Stop showing Bible DVDs, or we will have to arrest you;

Christian cafe warned over homophobic Bible verses:

Christian cafe owner warned by police over Bible verse display;

Police to British cafe: Don’t show Bible DVD;

More appalling Christophobia (I was alerted to this issue by Bill Muehlenberg who wrote this article).

The Christian Institute has provided an early assessment of the case, ‘Video: Police ban Bible from Christian cafe’.

The Baptist Press link above concludes the article with this challenge:

“England, the U.S. and other Western nations share the same legal, political and religious traditions,” Mike Judge, a spokesman for the Christian Institute in the U.K., told Baptist Press last year. “If this can happen in England, it can happen where you live. Christians need to be aware that small changes in the law can lead to big changes in the culture. If you want to be free to share the Gospel, you must defend that liberty in the public square. Don’t hide in your churches; get out there and engage in the culture. Do it wisely, graciously, with excellence and with courage.”

Will we evangelicals continue to remain silent while our Christian liberties are being eroded? What will be your response if there is a complaint against you when you share the Gospel with unbelievers in your country?

I urge you to seriously consider the Christian challenges in our culture and become an active person in standing for the faith and challenging those (including government) who may want to silence us.

Is this religious discrimination or not? What is happening to our Western world when a person who plays a silent edition of the Bible in his own business is threatened with arrest?

There is a follow-up report from the Christian Institute in the UK, ‘Police say ‘sorry’ over Christian café Bible case’. However the case is not ending there as the Christian Institute states in this news release.

 

Copyright © 2011 Spencer D. Gear. This document last updated at date: 8 October 2015.

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